It would
seem that the people of Northern British Columbia are at odds with the concept
of road lines. The Stewart-Cassiar Hwy
seemed more to us like a well trodden goat trail than a major causeway of
noteworthy acclaim. The road leading
south from Nugget City to Dease Lake reminded us of the bumpy portion of the
Alaska highway between Haines Junction and Beaver Creek. The bumps which jarred our spines were not due to
the ravaging forces of permafrost, but instead to poor road mainenance.
With its tight curves, pot holes, uneven gravel patches and grown in road sides
the road wasn’t the most pleasant to drive.
With this experience accented by an irritating one sided confrontation with another motorist in the town of Dease Lake, our perception of the highway itself was not
good to say the least.
In a
brighter light, accompanied with sufficient sunlight the Stewart-Cassiar highway
is wonderfully scenic and the area surrounding peppered with small, crystal
clear lakes. One of these lakes we were
lucky enough to swim in; Boya Lake was the name and - boya, was it ever cold! Never have we seen such a clear lake, it was
a treat to take a dip, despite the frigid water.
Feeling young and rejuvenated we moved on down the road to our campsite for the night, where we slept a mere 8ft from the shore.
If
ever we were to wonder where all the mosquito’s in Alaska had gone, we would
know where they were hiding, Dease Lake.
The mosquito population was likely worse than what we had seen in
Prudhoe Bay. When we battened down the
hatches for the night we could hear the swarm’s dull hum from outside. Through some hidden opening (or perhaps they
entered with us) we were joined inside our tent by a sizable portion of the
little devils. Alison spent a good 20
minutes swatting and effectively painted the walls with mosquito guts before we
attempted to sleep…well, I attempted to sleep.
Alison somehow passed out while I lay there first thinking about
potential bears in the area then plagued by the buzzing of tiny wings near my
ears for the remainder of the night. Not
a good night’s sleep.
Tonight we
stay just outside of Smithers, BC then hang out with Ma and Pa Jackson in Jasper
for our last day of hard travel.
Adventure
on!
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